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Trás-os-Montes autonomist movement (Portugal)

image by António Martins

About the flag

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About the flag

In 1978 emerged in NE Portugal a regionalist movement that used a quite interesting flag: a horizontal tricolor of green, red and black, with a two pointed stylized black mountain on the red stripe. This intends to sybolize the NE region of Portugal, sugestively called Trás-os-Montes, i.e., beyond the mountains. Portuguese vexillologist Simas de Azevedo (which proposes this design for the new administravive region) interprets the horizontal tricolor as an influence of the spanish autonomic flags of Extremadura and Andalucia, but I find it stretchy… This regionalist movement had a quite small agenda at the beggining: they called themselves Comissão de Luta e pró-Unidade Militar and demanded the reopening of a large local military facility — but soon this organization presented itself as the embryo of a future Comissão pró-Autonomia do Nordeste Transmontano, i.e., a committee in favour of the over-the-mountain northeast autonomy. But, alas, as quick as it appeared it faded out — and nowadays is quite dificult to find information about this particular organization, one among many other shortlived ones in those restless portuguese late seventies.
António Martins, 22 Dec 1997